Well the trailers, posters, interviews and promotional hoopla are all behind us. Scott Stewart's LEGION finally hit theatres and the apocalyptic dust has settled. Where do the chips fall? Do angles with metal wings wielding machine guns work on the silver screen? Is the old woman really as creepy as we thought she'd be? You have to read to find out...

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In fairness to the makers of LEGION, it’s a good bet they don’t watch SUPERNATURAL, have hazy if any memories of the PROPHECY franchise and think comparisons to TERMINATOR are not applicable owing to the difference between horror/fantasy and horror/sci-fi. However, viewers who are interested in LEGION’s subject matter may notice some similarities to all of the above, along with the fact that LEGION feels a bit rushed by comparison. The new film has some undeniably cool action sequences and a serious, soulful performance by Paul Bettany as an angel who wants to help humankind. Then again, it’s also got some seriously screwy theology.

In an introductory voiceover, we are given the opinion that God may plunge the Earth into darkness because he’s tired “of all the bullshit.” In LEGION, Bettany’s Michael comes to Earth, hacks off his wings, takes what he needs in a messed-up downtown and heads out. Meanwhile, at the Paradise Falls diner and garage out in the middle of a Southwest desert, proprietors Bob (Dennis Quaid) and Percy (Charles S. Dutton) deal patiently with a lost urbanite (Tyrese Gibson) and a suburban family (Jon Tenney, Kate Walsh, Willa Holland) who are waiting for their car to be fixed by Bob’s son Jeep (Lucas Black). Jeep is distracted by his love for waitress Charlie (Adrienne Palicki), very pregnant with a baby by another man. Then there’s a blackout of TV, phone and lights. When the electricity comes back, an elderly customer (Jeanette Miller) comes in and all Hell appears to break loose, but when Michael arrives at the diner, we learn that Hell is the least of everybody’s problems.

Scott Stewart, a visual effects artist making his feature directorial debut here on the screenplay he wrote with Peter Schink, has some really snazzy moves when it comes to angel wings, possessed bodies mutating and ominous clouds of uncertain composition in the sky. He also does wonders with a fairly confined environment.

The script and the cast also contribute some good character moments, particularly Dutton and Gibson, and Quaid is persuasive as a man who has been defeating himself for decades. Bettany is thoughtful and credibly unearthly, while also projecting authoritative power. Doug Jones has a short but effective cameo as an ice cream truck driver who does not deliver frozen treats.

However, the screenplay mixes Old and New Testament mythology in ways that are jarring, particularly (again, the filmmakers could hardly know this) coming on the heels of THE BOOK OF ELI. Suffice to say this is not the most sympathetic view of the Almighty, yet we get messages that are anti-abortion, pro-gun and not necessarily rewarding of basic decency, delivered in a way that suggests the script isn’t particularly invested in what it’s saying, but rather is just going for effect. This would be a little less pronounced if the scares were more frightening either viscerally or philosophically, but while we appreciate the weirdness, there isn’t enough sustained tension to generate chills and there isn’t enough conviction to prompt much reflection, let alone true fear.

LEGION is lively enough and the action with Bettany is actually memorable. The rest may be taken with a grain, or even part of a pillar, of salt.

Special thanks to Joe Stineman for the review.